World’s number seven, Elina Svitolina, was satisfied by her game-play in the 6/4, 6/1 victory over Elise Mertens, an opponent which the Ukrainian had feared of before the start of the encounter. “I was expecting a very tough match.

In the beginning, it was very intense – she’s a very aggressive player and always brings intensity to the court. I had to expect that and move my feet really quick and try to get chances to break her. Today I served really well, and I was happy with that”, said Svitolina after the match.

The start of the match was indeed more troublesome for the Ukrainian as Mertens started serving very well and got to the point of having two break points on Svitolina’s second service game. Despite Svitolina’s worries, this was the Belgian’s only impactful moment of the match.

Elina broke right in the next game after she survived Mertens’ break point opportunities and the match flowed in only one direction afterwards. The Ukrainian was content that her game-play worked well and that she followed the right strategy to annihilate her opponent’s intense way of dictating the match.

“I played very solid from the baseline, I had great defense today. Elise tries to take the ball early and try to dictate, so it was important for me to put pressure on her. I executed the game plan and it was really good”, said Svitolina.

Elina’s next opponent will be Sofia Kenin, the player who dispatched her in Toronto after a tight 7/6, 6/4 straight-setter.